The Outer Gate Three Halls’ recruitment didn’t interest Wang Chen.
But he still had to visit the Outer Sect Main Hall.
First, he went to the Merit Affairs Hall, holding his identity plaque, to claim his battle merit rewards.
Five hundred merit points.
Then he headed to the Dharma Transmission Hall.
Today there were quite a lot of people exchanging cultivation techniques at the Scripture Pavilion, and Wang Chen had to wait in a long line before it was his turn.
He respectfully handed over his identity plaque to the Dharma Transmission Elder, “I wish to exchange for an escape technique suitable for myself.”
The Dharma Transmission Elder took the plaque, and a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
“Qi Cultivation fourth layer, five hundred merit points,” said the Dharma Transmission Elder with a nod. “You last exchanged for the continued cultivation technique of the Five Elements Skill, so the most suitable for you would, of course, be the Five Elements Escape Technique, but your current cultivation level is too low to practice it.”
Whether an Inner Sect Disciple or an Outer Sect Disciple, each is provided with an identity plaque representing their status.
This plaque is extremely important, as it is sealed with the owner’s Divine Soul aura, thus it cannot be forged or faked.
Its uses are similar to electronic cards commonly used in Wang Chen’s past life, able to store and pay with merit points, as well as record personal information, a great invention in the world of immortal cultivation.
Therefore, with the plaque in hand, the Dharma Transmission Elder could understand Wang Chen’s basic situation.
Wang Chen gave another salute, “I seek further guidance from senior, please.”
The Dharma Transmission Elder thought for a moment, “If you need a spell for fleeing for your life, then I recommend the Shadowless Divine Traverse for three hundred fifty merit points, which you could cultivate to the Complete Qi Cultivation without a problem.”
“Thank you for the guidance, senior!”
Wang Chen didn’t hesitate, “I also wish to exchange for the Stealth Breath Technique.”
As its name suggests, the Stealth Breath Technique is a spell for concealing one’s aura, mainly used when one needs stealth and concealment.
Moreover, once reinforced with the Stealth Breath Technique, others would find it quite difficult to discern the true cultivation level.
It was a perfect counter to the Spiritual Perception Technique.
Of course, countering is mutual, and the effectiveness of a spell often depends on the practitioner’s strength and the skill level!
As a minor cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation, Wang Chen had no immediate need to hide his cultivation level.
But Shadowless Divine Traverse combined with Stealth Breath Technique was undoubtedly an excellent set of techniques for fleeing!
The Stealth Breath Technique could be exchanged for a mere thirty merit points, so after spending three hundred eighty merit points, Wang Chen’s Sea of Consciousness was now enriched with two more spell seeds carrying sealed incantations.
The remaining one hundred twenty merit points were naturally saved for a rainy day!
Upon leaving the Outer Sect Main Hall, Wang Chen headed over to the Four Seas Commerce Association.
This time he sought out Shopkeeper Jin, with whom he had previously dealt.
“Greetings, Dao Friend.”
Shopkeeper Jin evidently had an excellent memory and greeted Wang Chen with a beaming smile, “How is your cultivation of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method coming along?”
Wang Chen didn’t waste any time chatting and took out the Yin Qi Pearl, “Could you please appraise this for me?”
Shopkeeper Jin was surprised, “This Yin Qi Pearl is not bad at all.”
After thoroughly inspecting the pearl, he pondered and said, “How about four hundred Fragmented Spirit Stones?”
Wang Chen frowned, showing displeasure, “I’ll go ask at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”
In reality, Wang Chen had no idea how many Spirit Stones the Yin Qi Pearl was worth. The information about the Yin Qi Pearl in the ‘Treatise on Evil Wraith’ certainly didn’t include a specific price.
But he was very clear about the principle that there is no trade without deceit.
The Four Seas Commerce Association might have a good reputation, but if one were to believe they always offered fair and honest prices, that would be too naive!
Shopkeeper Jin obviously didn’t want to miss this deal, “Then, what is your offer?”
Wang Chen, “Eight hundred.”
Without hesitation, Shopkeeper Jin returned the Yin Qi Pearl, “You might want to go ask at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion first!”
Wang Chen put the pearl back into his Storage Bag and patted his buttocks, preparing to leave.
Any transaction worth more than four hundred Fragmented Spirit Stones qualified him to step into the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Even if their offer was lower, it didn’t matter. Wang Chen could always come back and continue to haggle.
As for whether this would lose him face…
How much is face worth in Spirit Stones?
Seeing that Wang Chen was really about to leave, Shopkeeper Jin stomped her foot and took the initiative to raise the price.
She feared that Wang Chen, being young and proud of face, would rather sell at a low price at Myriad Treasures Pavilion than swallow his pride.
Then she would really have missed out.
As a result, Wang Chen walked even faster!
But in the end, Wang Chen couldn’t bring himself to leave the Four Seas Commerce Association.
Shopkeeper Jin offered a price of six hundred and eighty Low Spirits, successfully retaining his footsteps.
Wang Chen felt that he had reached the other party’s bottom line.
After completing the transaction, Shopkeeper Jin said with a bitter smile, “Fellow Daoist, I can guarantee that you wouldn’t get this price at Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”
The reason for the overpricing was that recently, the commerce association’s higher-ups had demanded that their branches purchase a large amount of various precious Spiritual Materials.
This included Yin Qi Pearls.
As a shopkeeper, she also had KPI performance assessments!
But these matters were not suited for outsiders to know.
Wang Chen didn’t take all the Spirit Stones either. He purchased thirty bottles of Vajra Ghee from Shopkeeper Jin.
Instantly, three hundred Low Spirits were gone.
Vajra Ghee truly was a great thing, with wonderful effects for accomplices practicing Body Refinement Techniques.
Totaling now at six points, Wang Chen’s cultivation of the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Method had yet to break through the first layer of the Copper Skin Realm, but his Physique had increased by 2 points.
His figure and constitution far surpassed that when he had first arrived through transmigration!
Mainly because this stuff is a consumable, and the more you use, the more addictive it becomes.
So, taking advantage of the current situation where he was relatively well-off, he bought a few more bottles to avoid the agony of running out later.
“It’s still this price now,”
Shopkeeper Jin told Wang Chen, “but if you come again next time, the price is likely to go up.”
A thought struck Wang Chen, but he didn’t speak of buying more. He exchanged a few pleasantries, said goodbye, and left.
He wandered around Cloud Mountain City only to discover that the price of White Jade Rice had actually risen to eight Fragmented Spirit Stones per jin.
It had doubled compared to the past!
One must know that the new rice would soon be ready for harvest, and normally at this time, the price of aged rice should drop slightly, not skyrocket .
Despite the significant price increase of rice, people continued to flock to the Immortal Food Shop to purchase Spirit Rice.
Some cultivators cursed and complained, creating a very tense atmosphere.
Wang Chen thought for a moment and didn’t join the line to buy rice.
Last time, he had already bought a thousand jin of Spirit Rice, and his own ten mu of Spirit Fields had not encountered any issues.
So even though he knew the price of rice might rise further,
Wang Chen did not entertain the idea of hoarding.
Compared to Spirit Rice, what he needed more was Monster Beast meat to meet the demands of Body Refinement.
In the end, Wang Chen bought five hundred jin of Monster Beast meat from a butcher’s shop and picked up some commonly used Talismans to restock his arsenal.
The price of Monster Beast meat had also increased,
but not as much as that of Spirit Rice.
Instead, it seemed more affordable.
The Talismans he purchased mainly included Evil-Repelling Talismans, Rebirth Talismans, and Dust-Smoke Talismans, among others.
These were all used in real combat with good results.
And this extra expense greatly strengthened Wang Chen’s determination to master Talisman Crafting.
Whether or not he could earn Spirit Stones was not important; what was important was that making his own Talismans could save Spirit Stones!
He also bought two packs of Cloud Mist Spiritual Tea.
Wang Chen planned to visit the Village Chief again to seek some information—Old Master Sun was very fond of drinking tea.
On his way back, Wang Chen overheard the sounds of wailing from several roadside houses.
And under the eaves of peasant homes hung White Banners, signifying that funerals were being held.
This scene weighed heavily on the hearts of those who witnessed it.
The second update has been delivered.